The Justice Department will continue to be prohibited from interfering in state medical marijuana laws under the new federal spending bill unveiled late Tuesday night.

The compromise legislation includes a provision that is intended to prevent the department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from using funds to arrest or prosecute patients, caregivers, and businesses that are acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. It stems from an amendment sponsored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA) that was first approved in the House of Representatives in May 2014 and included in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 signed by President Obama last December.

In April 2015, a Justice Department spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that the department did not interpret the amendment as affecting cases involving individuals or businesses, but merely “impeding the ability of states to carry out their medical marijuana laws.” In October, a federal judge ruled that interpretation was inaccurate and that the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prevents the department from taking action against individuals who are acting in compliance with state laws.

Unfortunately, the new spending plan also includes an amendment, introduced by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Maryland) and approved earlier this year, which prevents the District of Columbia from regulating the cultivation and distribution of marijuana for adult use. District voters approved a ballot initiative in 2014 to make possession and growing of limited amounts of marijuana legal for adults 21 years of age and older.

Delaware’s marijuana decriminalization law officially takes effect today, making Delaware the 19th state in the nation to remove the threat of jail, a punishment far too severe for simple marijuana possession.

Under the new law, the possession or private use of one ounce or less of marijuana will no longer trigger criminal penalties or create a criminal record for adults over 21 years of age. Instead, it will be a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Adults between the ages of 18 and 20 will face the same $100 civil fine for their first offense. Marijuana possession by minors and public consumption by people of any age will remain misdemeanors.

“Delaware’s marijuana policy is about to become a lot more reasonable,” said Karen O’Keefe, who lobbied for the bill as state policies director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Most people agree adults should not face jail time or the life-altering consequences of a criminal record just for possessing a substance that is safer than alcohol. Taxpayers certainly don’t want to foot the bill for it, and fortunately they will not have to any longer.”

A new bill to make marijuana legal for adults and regulated similarly to alcohol in Vermont will be introduced next month, according to bill sponsors.

The Times Argus reports:

Legislation to be introduced next month when lawmakers return to the State House would allow those 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana for recreational use as early as July.

[caption id="attachment_9415" align="alignright" width="150"] Sen. Joe Benning[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9416" align="alignleft" width="150"] Sen. Jeanette White[/caption]

The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Jeanette White, D-Windham, and Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, would allow for lounges, where customers could purchase and use marijuana, and retail outlets in 2017. Edible products would not be allowed.

...

Personal cultivation and use would allow residents to grow marijuana in plots of up to 100 square feet. Marijuana possession would be limited to 1 ounce. Anything harvested over that amount would be required to be in a secured location. The private sale of marijuana between two parties would not be allowed, and marijuana could not be exchanged for anything of value except at a state-permitted retail establishment.

There are still details that legislators say will be dealt with in committee next session. If you are a Vermont resident, please urge your lawmakers to support making marijuana legal and visit the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana.

Late last week, the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary met to consider B21-0107, which would make permanent an expansion of what is considered “open to the public” for purposes of banning marijuana consumption. This legislation is excessively broad and unnecessary.

Should B21-0107 fail, owners and operators of private clubs and event spaces will be allowed to decide for themselves if they want to allow marijuana consumption by adults 21 and older. Currently, District residents are legally allowed to consume marijuana only in private residences. Because of restrictions on public housing and by some landlords, this leaves some District residents with nowhere they can consume cannabis.

District code already prevents marijuana consumption “any place to which the public is invited,” so marijuana could still not be consumed in bars or restaurants if B21-0107 is defeated.

Congress has prevented the Council from taking further action to treat marijuana like alcohol, but that does not mean they have to adopt excessively broad legislation such as B21-0107. If you are a District resident, ask your council members to oppose advancement of B21-0107 thereby allowing social marijuana use in limited, non-residential, private spaces. Marijuana is safer than alcohol; help us continue to shape policy to recognize this.

Flanked by leaders in the faith community, Illinois Rep. Kelly Cassidy today announced a new decriminalization bill last week for the 2016 session, HB 4357. Rep. Cassidy has long worked to establish a more just approach to marijuana possession in Illinois, and this new bill gives lawmakers and the governor a chance to quickly pass a bill they both agree would improve the lives of thousands of Illinoisans.

[caption id="attachment_9407" align="alignright" width="200"] Rep. Kelly Cassidy[/caption]

While both Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature agreed that arrest and jail should be replaced with civil penalties, Gov. Rauner wanted some changes to the legislation approved by the General Assembly. After he issued an amendatory veto, attention turned to the state budget during the latter half of the year. HB 4357 picks up where the previous bill left off.

Currently, possession laws in Illinois are harsh and unfair. Not only can a person be arrested, jailed, and fined large amounts of money for simple possession, people of color are also far, far more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts. It’s past time for state law to change and apply equally to all residents.

Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger gave patients reason to cheer earlier this month when he approved intractable pain as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. Unfortunately, though, proposed revisions to Minnesota’s medical marijuana regulations could result in an excruciatingly long delay for reviewing future petitions. Under the proposed changes, there could be a delay of more than two years from the time a petition to add a new qualifying condition or delivery method is made to when it takes effect!

If you are a Minnesota resident, please write to Commissioner Ed Ehlinger at the Minnesota Department of Health and urge him to once again show compassion to patients by changing the timeline for adding new conditions. Members of the public may comment on the proposed rules until Wednesday, December 16.

A vast majority of medical marijuana states allow individuals to use and access any number of preparations of medical marijuana to treat a variety of conditions. Minnesota is one of the few that exclude conditions like severe nausea and that strictly limits the modes of delivery — including by excluding whole plant.

On December 2, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services issued a request for proposals for two new medical marijuana compassion centers, one in Sussex and another in Kent County. The announcement comes six months after the state’s first center opened in Wilmington in June. The new dispensaries are scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.

The addition of two centers will help to better meet the needs of Delaware patients and will reduce the distances they have to travel. Currently, one dispensary serves the more than 700 patients and caregivers who have registered in the state since the program began. Under existing restrictions, a compassion center can only have up to 2,000 ounces of usable inventory at a time. Unfortunately, patients and caregivers are not allowed to cultivate their own medicine, so increasing the number of dispensaries is vital to ensuring safe, reliable access.

Proposals will be accepted until 11:00 a.m. on March 30, 2016.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on February 1 at the Delaware Division of Public Health, Jesse Cooper Building, Third Floor Conference Room in Dover. Applicants must preregister at (302) 744-4862.

A poll released Monday shows that the vast majority of likely Georgia voters support expanding the extremely limited medical marijuana law.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

The poll conducted on behalf of the newly formed Georgians for Freedom in Healthcare is part of that effort to show Georgians are comfortable with expanding the program — even if the governor isn’t.

The poll, conducted Nov. 29-30 by Atlanta-based Opinion Savvy, found 84.5 percent of likely 2016 Georgia primary voters somewhat to strongly supported allowing production and distribution of cannabis oil in Georgia.

Another 72.7 percent of respondents said they are somewhat to very confident law enforcement agencies could effectively police the law’s expansion — something law enforcement officials in Georgia have said they are still skeptical about.

Among other findings, 81.8 percent of respondents said they support expanding the list of illnesses now included in the program for the oil’s use. Another 61.5 percent said they somewhat to strongly support allowing the smoking of medical marijuana as a form of treatment. And 49.4 percent said they would at least somewhat support recreational use of marijuana in Georgia, although state lawmakers have said they have no appetite for allowing recreational use here.

Under the current law, there is no in-state production of medical marijuana, and what few patients are able to qualify for the program must risk arrest by obtaining their medicine in other states. Hopefully, the Governor and legislature will listen to the will of the people and not stand in the way of improving the law!

Recently, the government of Mississippi announced that MPP will not be able to raise any funds within the state, which could hamper efforts at reform there and throughout the South.

MPP's Executive Director Rob Kampia writes:

The Mississippi government is saying that MPP is prohibited from raising money in that state because I'm a convicted felon.

After I was convicted for growing my own marijuana while in college, I co-founded MPP in order to repeal marijuana prohibition in all 50 states — something we can no longer do in Mississippi. 

Worse yet, we're not even allowed to raise money in Mississippi to challenge the state’s stupid fundraising law.

This isn’t the first time MPP has been discriminated against.

For example, (1) MPP almost lost our employees' retirement plan until a member of Congress intervened, (2) the bank where we've been doing business for 20 years won't give us a line of credit because they don't like our "mission," (3) we had trouble opening a brokerage account, (4) we had trouble getting credit card processing for our five ballot initiative committees, (5) numerous landlords wouldn't lease office space to us or our campaigns, and (6) the IRS has audited us twice.

And now we can't raise any money in the entire state of Mississippi because of a marijuana conviction 26 years ago?

Today, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger announced that intractable pain will be added to Minnesota’s medical marijuana program!

[caption id="attachment_9386" align="alignright" width="200"] Dr. Ed Ehlinger[/caption]

Unless the legislature passes a measure to override his compassionate decision, patients with intractable pain can be certified under the program beginning July 1, 2016. Once certified, they can receive medical marijuana beginning August 1, 2016.

A vast majority of medical marijuana states allow individuals to use and access medical marijuana to treat severe pain, and Minnesota does well to follow suit. Cannabis is far safer than opioids and prescription painkillers, and patients deserve this option.